October 3, 2022

Conference Connections

Session Spotlight: Infrastructure

From repairing roads, to replacing lead pipes, to fixing bridges, to ensuring broadband is available in your community, infrastructure is a vital component of municipal government. The sessions below will help guide you in applying for state and federal funding, identify planning benchmarks, and learning best practices for your municipality to succeed. For CEU and speaker information, please visit the Conference website or download the Conference app.

Tuesday, November 15

10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Building for the Future: A Private Sector Perspective (Room 303). Building our infrastructure for the challenges for the future requires partnership between the private and public sectors. Hear from private sector leaders on their vision for the future.
 
Municipal Climate Resilience: Costs, Resources, & Funding (Room 415).
Municipal leaders are identifying local climate vulnerabilities and planning for long-term solutions to severe weather impacts. Listen to what municipalities can do to protect their taxpayers from footing the entirety of costs related to climate recovery, resilience, and mitigation efforts and discover resources available to municipalities, including litigation.

2:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Federal Issues: Obtaining & Leveraging Funds from BIL and ARP (Room 403).
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) provides opportunities for municipalities to apply for federal funding includes repairs to roads, bridges, broadband, and lead pipe replacement. This timely session will help municipal officials develop best practices to identify, apply for, and utilize these funds to improve their communities. 
 
Transit Friendly Planning: A Guide for New Jersey Communities (Room 409). The new Guide is a resource designed to assist community members, elected and appointed officials, members of planning and zoning boards, technical planning staff, community groups, and those who are interested in making land use decisions around transit facilities that assist in improving mobility and access to transit. NJ TRANSIT staff will provide an overview of the Guide’s five chapters, explain how the Guide can be used in communities of all sizes, discuss planning around emerging topics (micromobility, curbside management, etc.), describe technical assistance opportunities, and answer any questions.

3:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Legoland for Managers: Building Communities in Towns (Room 312). How do municipalities need to think about the communities of tomorrow? The panel will be comprised of managers or other appointed department heads who can highlight how they see the evolving need to address their communities & prepare the workforce for the diversity of our municipal citizens.  

Wednesday, November 16

9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

Economic Recovery Act of 2020: Fueling Community Projects (Room 301). Programs in the Economic Recovery Act of 2020 better quality of life, including repurposing dormant historic properties, combatting food deserts, & ensuring incentivized companies and developers give back. Community Benefit Agreements ensure towns reap the rewards of new developments. The Historic Property Reinvestment and Food Security Planning Grant programs transform distressed properties.

10:45 a.m. – 12:00 a.m.

Abandoned Properties (Room 312). A discussion of Chapter 444 of Laws of 2021, a new law that has answered all the questions and provided a framework in regard to mortgage foreclosures, the ability to charge vacant property fees, and the rules regarding the collection.
 
Follow the Money: Accessing Broadband Funding (Jt. w/ JAG) (Room 413). Last year the federal government approved $65 billion dollars to improve broadband deployment and adoption. That funding will flow from the Federal Government to the states for distribution. This panel will explore the way municipalities can apply for grants, and how it can be used once it arrives at the local level.

Thursday, November 17

9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.

State Brownfields Resource Suite Prepares Communities for Development (Room 411). Remediation and redevelopment of brownfields are critical first steps in New Jersey’s strategy for redevelopment that advances economic growth while curtailing environmental impacts and supporting climate change resiliency. An overview of brownfield resources that attendees can use to support redevelopment in their communities, from technical assistance to tax credits and other financing tools.

Session Spotlight: Ethics

Those working in local government have an interest and responsibility to meet ethical standards, which can be difficult to navigate as laws change and expectations shift. Visit the following League sessions with a focus on ethics to catch up on the latest. For CEU, speaker information, and affiliate sessions, please visit the Conference website or download the Conference app.

Tuesday, November 15

10:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Local Officials’ Ethics Act (Room 403). Featuring the Director of Local Government Services, Jaquelyn Suarez, this session will discuss the Local Government Ethics Law and numerous cases. 

Wednesday, November 16

10:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Elected Officials Primer: Ethics, OPRA, OPMA, & Civility (Room 405/406). Municipal officials will receive up-to-date information on various ethics issues, the Open Public Meetings Act, Access to Public Records, and civility in public discourse.

Thursday, November 17

10:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Ethics of Social Media in Public Government (Room 201/202). This fast-paced session will explore the benefits of social media in government but also highlight the legal and practical implications of its use including free speech implications of public social media, its impacts on governing bodies, as well as the interplay of social media with employer policies, confidentiality, and best practices in the workplace.

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